Next To You by Claudia Burgoa {Book Review & Giveaway}

I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

Where to get:

Him

…I need time. Time to heal those wings and learn to use them…

Was part of the letter Rebecca Trent, Daniel Brightmore’s fiancée and best friend left when she ran away. The person he trusted the most for the past decade disappeared without giving him a second glance. She taught him how to love, believe in family and that everyone deserves a happily ever after. Now he’s struggling between wiping any traces of her from his life and drowning his sorrows away with the help of his new best friends—Don Julio and Jack Daniels.

Her

Rebecca’s past suffocated her to the point of not wanting to continue, her lifeline and the only reason to live began to withdraw from her. She wished it had been her imagination, but heard it loud and clear: “If not, there’s always a divorce, nothing is forever.” This time it became a leave or die situation. Something has got to change—she had to change. Packing light and leaving a letter behind, she takes a journey that can help her find herself through the shards of her painful childhood.

As letters, memories and stories are exchanged, two once inseparable people reconcile what’s left of their relationship. Beyond the confines of everything they built together, they’re left with two lonely people searching for what it means to be whole. Will they find meaning under their bruised psyches or will their pasts get the better of them?

Unfortunately, raw really hit me a few seconds ago, and instead of having a wedding, I am dumbfounded by the new development following a series of problems I have faced on a daily basis for the past few months. My future has taken a complete one eighty degree turn and instead of finding my girl waiting for me when I arrive home, I find a deserted house and a letter on top of her pillow.

Ten years I could have been in a happy safe place. She had been the first woman who I let in, who called Danny and at the end she wished things had been different. They loved me, only, not enough. The memories, not from the place but the past, help me discover that Becca's departure left me wondering about my own sanity.

P.S For you, I'll buy the entire universe if that will give me back the smile your past stole from me.

I was hooked from the moment I read the back cover of this book!

Claudia Y. Burgoa, never fails to amaze me with her writing style and the way she can make me cry,laugh, and scream at the characters she brings to life in her books. This book was no exception to that rule!

Next To You is a continuation to Where Life Takes You which was a great book as well. However, This book can be read as a stand alone, you just wouldn't know the back story about Becca and Dan and how they came together.

This book finds Becca Trent & Daniel Brightmore almost to the point of marriage when Becca just ups and leaves him. She is suddenly in a state of panic, and emotionally distressed with all the things she has dodged or let go of in her life. Her inner emotions just get the best of her and she decides it is best for everyone if she goes far away. Dan does not take the "Dear John" letter well and begins a self destructing phase that has his friends and family worried about him. It is obvious to the reader that Becca has a lot of ghosts to deal with and from some stand point you can understand why she needs to step back from the "over bearing" boyfriend who wants to control everyone. However, this fact doesn't stop you from being angry at Becca for ruining a good thing and letting go of an amazing guy.

Becca and Dan soon start to share letters back and forth while Becca is still away. They both learn a lot about themselves and their relationship. The lessons they have to learn, are hard and emotional to say the least.

I was so torn during this book, I couldn't decide if I was pissed off at Becca or Dan, it kept switching. One chapter I would be irate with Becca and then the next chapter I'd switch to being angry at Dan. That is the amazing thing about Claudia's work. She can suck a reader in so fast, and with such different emotions that will play back and forth through out the novel.

I devoured this book just as I always do with this authors work. I am in love with these characters and the way that Claudia grabs at your heart strings with each and every word. Her characters are extremely relatable, well thought out and timeless.

Giveaway

About the Author

Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City,

Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.

She now lives in Colorado working as a CFO for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.